Unraveled (Guzzi Duet Book 1)(46)

Gian shrugged, pulling the zipper down on the garment to expose Cara’s back to his hands. He let his palms linger over the warm, soft skin of her shoulders as he pushed the shoulders of the dress down.

“I have a pretty decent drycleaner, actually. He’s got a knack for getting blood out as long as it’s not too old. A secret trick, or so he says. I think I’ll take it to him.”

Gian was lying through his teeth.

Blood didn’t come out of fabric.

He would get a new dress for Cara, he simply wouldn’t tell her that was what he had done.

“You don’t have to do that,” Cara said.

She still wasn’t looking at him.

Gian hated that.

“Hey.”

Cara let out a soft sigh. “Hmm, what?”

“Bella mia, look at me.” Gian carefully pulled the dress over Cara’s head, and then turned her to face him. Her emotionless expression only hurt him more. “I’m sorry for today, Cara.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Technically, it probably was.

He didn’t have to pull the trigger.

“The cops were in questioning me,” Cara said, running a hand through her messy curls. “They only got more annoyed when I couldn’t give them what they wanted. In case you’re worried, I didn’t say—”

“I’m not worried about that at all, mon ange,” he interrupted quickly. “I was worried about you, nothing else.”

“Still. I didn’t have much to tell either way.”

“Chris mentioned you … blanked a bit after the gunfire stopped and whatnot. Like you were frozen on the ground.”

Cara shrugged. “It could have been that day in Chicago all over again, because that was all I saw. I could hear Lea asking me to help her, not Chris. My mind is broken that way, I think.”

“Or you’ve got a touch of PTSD. An event like that is difficult to get over, Cara.”

“I just …” She trailed off, frowning.

“What, love?”

“I feel like something important happened—or I saw something important—but I can’t remember it because all I see is Chicago.”

“Whatever it was, it’ll come back, if it’s important enough. Otherwise, don’t stress on it. Certainly not tonight, anyway.”

Gian’s gaze was drawn to the bruises on the joint of her shoulder, and he had all he could do to quell the rage that suddenly boiled like hot lava inside his gut. With gentle strokes, he let his fingertips ghost over the marks. Chris’s attempt to get Cara out of the way as fast as possible had left her with a dislocated shoulder from the force of hitting the ground, and awful bruising around the joint.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Cara said.

“That’s a matter of opinion.”

It seemed he was saying that a lot tonight.

“You look pissed.”

Gian chuckled dryly. “Because it pisses me off that you have any marks. The only marks that should ever be on your body are ones I put there when I fuck you. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Cara smiled, but it didn’t come off as entirely true. “You don’t have to stay tonight. I’m sure you have other—”

“I have nothing to do but sit here with you.”

And that was just what he did.

The bathtub practically overflowed with lavender-scented bubbles by the time Gian decided it was filled enough. Steam was already starting to rise in the room as he helped Cara step into the hot, soapy water. He waited for her to get settled in before he pulled a chair from the kitchen into the bathroom, set it beside the tub, and pulled his book out to read.

Out loud, of course.

She liked it.

Cara leaned over and rested her head against his thigh, and Gian sifted his fingers through her silky hair as he read along.

“Other than the whole drive-by thing,” Cara started to say.

“Keep going.”

“This is mostly an okay birthday.”

“I will save the Quebec trip for another time, I promise.” Gian bent down to kiss the top of Cara’s head. “But it still managed to be okay for you somehow?”

“I didn’t realize it until I was in the hospital, but it’s my first birthday without Lea. I didn’t think about it leading up to today or as I was getting ready this morning. Tommas didn’t mention her when he called this morning to wish me a happy birthday. It wasn’t on my mind. She was the oldest twin by four and a half minutes.”

“You never told me that before.”

“Details,” Cara said flippantly. “She used to joke and say it was the best four and a half minutes of her life. I’m now six months older than she lived to be.”

“Things you don’t really consider, huh?”

“I suppose. I was going to say I think she had to be lying about those four and a half minutes, because these past six months have been the worst of my life.”

Gian stroked her cheek softly. “You have a good reason for that, though.”

“It wouldn’t be entirely true.” Cara smiled up at him, happier and more honest than before. “The last couple haven’t been so bad, really.”

Well, then …

He could understand that, too.